I hope they will do cars in O-scale. Wouldn't it be cool to model a race track on your layout with a bunch of cars going at it. If you made the track round, you could use a turntable below they table to simulate the pack of cars going around the track. Add some sound effects and you have a pretty cool addition.
Terry Thomann Fredericksburg, Virginia That is me on the left. My brother got the train TCA 09-64381
It kind of looks like Lionel will be replacing the current supplier of the die cast cars. I don't have any, but the ones I've seen look to be 1/24 or 1/25 scale. That is close to G scale, isn't it? Pocono in the Garden?
Nascar huh. Did the Nascar sets go over very well?
The original company will still be selling the vehicles-- just at the racetracks exclusively--- I don't think that Lionel will become their supplier--- I believe that Lionel will be selling in the Big Box stores-- like they have done with their O gauge sets in Target. 1/24 scale is technically larger than Gauge 1, which is supposed to be 1/32. However, there are "G gauge" items that are 1/22.5---
A Day Without Trains is a Day Wasted
If NASCAR wants on time delivery they've gone to the wrong place. Will customers need to pre-order a certain quantity before Lionel decides to have them made?
Civil War I hope they will do cars in O-scale. Wouldn't it be cool to model a race track on your layout with a bunch of cars going at it. If you made the track round, you could use a turntable below they table to simulate the pack of cars going around the track. Add some sound effects and you have a pretty cool addition.
I have a sense of deja vu here, remembering the slot-car craze of the early Sixties. For a while, it came close to wiping out the model-train hobby altogether.
I'm very familiar with the NASCAR diecast industry. It sky-rocketed to it's peak in '98, and has steadily spiralled down since, with many companies going belly up. I was personally heart-broken when Revell was bought out by ACTION. We had 5 NASCAR related stores in my area, and all but one are left. Some very nice people lost their shirts dealing with distributors.
The recent LIONEL venture appeared well-recieved. Some of the cars were produced in the 1:64 (matchbox) size, while others were done near 1:43 (closer to O). I collect 1:43 NASCAR diecast, so I was glad to pick up some of the offerings just for the autos. It was very apparent that the produced way too many pieces, as many vendors had to blow them out at rock-bottom prices.
I hope LIONEL got a good deal on this opportunity, because NASCAR tends to strangle every last dollar it can on licensing.
I ordered some 1:43 diecast from the NASCAR Superstore. These are by ACTION, and were available early this year. Possibly a prelude to the upcoming LIONEL offerings.
What I like about them is they show the features of the Car Of Tomorrow, complete with wing (since removed from competition), front spoiler splitter, and even the ignition boxes on the dash (to defeat cheating with traction control). The graphics are nice, but some of the paint is applied rather thick. Not pictured, but also available are the #14 Burger King, #14 Office Depot, #24 Dupont, #48 Lowes, and #7 GoDaddy (Danica). They were listed at $14.99.
Here's LIONEL's offering (dated 2006)
As you can see, it's the same 1:43 scale, but the diecast is stamped MOTORSPORTS AUTHENTICS (really Winners Circle, think WALMART). Winners Circle produced a good variety of 1:43 cars in the late 90's early 00's, then nothing else, only 1:24 and 1:64 (and some miniscule cars too).
Here's a sample of what used to be available from Revell before ACTION bought them out
Each car came with a handsome display case, opening hood with engine, nicely detailed rims and window castings, as well as the numerous alcohol and tobacco contingency stickers (of course these were adult collectibles).
A little food for thought, these current cars are a bit "beefy"
They won't fit inside the traditional LIONEL autoracks, but seem to be right at home on the Railking open rack.
Well, here is the new Lionel line:
www.lionelnascar.com
They seem to be going after the RCCA crowd, with offerings only in 1:24 and 1:64. Nothing showing (at this time) in 1:43.
If I see something, I'll pass it on.
I thought we might have seen some NASCAR stuff in Lionel's RTR catalog that came out earlier this week. Especially since the Daytona 500 is in a couple weeks.
Bill T.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month